Kim Jong Un keeps the faith in Trump amid nuclear negotiations

Kim Jong Un keeps the faith in Trump amid nuclear negotiations

The North Korean leader has said he wants an end to hostilities with the US by the end of the president’s first term.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets South Korean envoys (AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un still has faith in US president Donald Trump’s commitment to ending their nations’ hostile relations, South Korean officials said.

However, Mr Kim is also said to be frustrated by questions about his willingness to denuclearise and wants his “goodwill measures” to be met in kind.

The North Korean leader’s comments, including his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and the suspension of all future long-range missile tests, were relayed by top South Korean security officials returning from meeting him in Pyongyang.

South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong speaks at the presidential Blue House in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Even in their indirect form, each statement will be closely examined for clues about Mr Kim’s mindset as North Korea and the US move forward with efforts to resolve a nuclear stand-off that just a year ago many feared could lead to war.

Some of his reported comments were reiterations of past stances, but there will be keen interest in whether they push negotiators back to diplomacy after recriminations that followed the two leaders’ June summit.

Since then, neither side has seemed willing to make a substantive move, leading to scepticism over Mr Trump’s claims that Mr Kim will really dismantle his nuclear weapons programme.

Recent satellite photos have indicated Mr Kim’s weapons factories are still operating to produce fissile materials to make nuclear weapons.

South Korean officials said they forwarded a message from the US leader to Mr Kim during their meeting and would send a separate message from Mr Kim to Mr Trump later on Thursday. The officials would not discuss the content of the messages.

Chung Eui-yong, Mr Moon’s national security adviser and the head of the South Korean delegation to Pyongyang, said Mr Kim told him that he still had faith in Mr Trump despite diplomatic setbacks.

He said the North Korean leader emphasised that he has not once talked negatively about Mr Trump to anyone, including his closest advisers.

Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore, in June (Evan Vucci/AP)

The US president responded by tweeting: “Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims ‘unwavering faith in President Trump.’ Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!”